Hello everyone! JupiterHalo here. I hope you all had a good Easter. Well, 
this is the second fic I’ve put up on the Net, so I hope people at least 
reads it. *laughs* And, I thank the people who e-mailed me saying they 
liked my first fic. As always, my e-mail address is SetsunaPuu21@cs.com for 
feedback, advice, etc.
This is an alternate reality fic. Usagi is nineteen in this, and Mamoru is 
twenty-three. 

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters used in this fic, except for 
Galen Sasaki, who is a one-time guy. The remaining characters belong to 
Takeuchi-sama.

“...” means talking
‘...’ means thinking


“There are as many people as there are stars, as many encounters as stars, 
and as many partings...” ~Author Unknown

Title: Almost
Author: JupiterHalo
Date finished: April 22, 2001
Rating: PG-13 (*very* brief rough language, brief sexual content)

A blond haired, blue-eyed nineteen year old woman, wearing khakis and a 
white tank top, walked happily down the street with her current boyfriend, 
Sasaki Galen. This woman, who could be recognized by the twin “meatballs” 
adorning her head, was often called “odango atama” by her archrival, Chiba 
Mamoru. This woman was none other than Tsukino Usagi. “So, where do you 
want to go for dinner, Galen-san?” Usagi asked him, love shining in her 
eyes.. “Hm?” Galen glanced down at the blond beside him. “What did you say, 
Usagi-chan?” She smiled at him and repeated her question. “Oh, I don’t 
know. I really don’t feel like going anywhere, actually. Hey,” he said, 
grabbing her hands, “why don’t you come over tonight? I’ll take you to the 
park and we’ll pack a picnic.” “That sounds like a great idea, Galen-san!” 
Usagi exclaimed. She turned to grin at him, and ran smack into a brick 
wall. “Oof!” Usagi quickly got up, and began to apologize. “Gomen nasai, I 
wasn’t-” “Looking where you were going?” A deep voice finished for her. 
“Seems like you’re always managing to not be watching where you‘re going, 
Odango.” Usagi growled at Mamoru, “Oh shut up, Mamoru-baka! I do too watch 
where I’m going!” Mamoru laughed. “Hardly, Odango.” “Usagi-chan?” Galen 
stood beside her and wrapped his arm around her waist. “Are you all right?” 
he asked her. “Hai, Galen-san.” Usagi answered. Mamoru’s eyes had narrowed 
as he glanced at the arm around her waist. “Who is this, Odango?” Galen 
grinned. “This man, Mamoru-baka, happens to be my boyfriend.” Galen bowed. 
“My name is Sasaki Galen, and you are...?” “Chiba Mamoru.” he responded. 
“You had better watch out, Sasaki-san. Odango here can be very clumsy at 
times.” Mamoru said as he gave Usagi a noogie. “Hey! Baka yaro!” she yelled
at him. “You could ruin my hair.” “I’ve got to go, Usagi-chan.” Galen 
kissed her cheek. “Pick you up at seven?” Usagi nodded, and Galen jogged 
off, calling over his shoulder, “Nice to meet you, Chiba-san!” Usagi sighed
happily and turned back to Mamoru. “Isn’t he so sweet?” Usagi mused aloud. 
Mamoru snorted at that. “Sweet? He’s a cobra, odango.” “Hey! Don’t you dare
say that about my boyfriend! Besides, he’s much sweeter than *you*, 
Mamoru-baka!” Mamoru just arched his eyebrow at her. “Uh, aren’t you a 
little young to date, odango?” Usagi sighed in exasperation. “I happen to 
be nineteen, and that’s old enough!” She looked at the watch on her wrist, 
and gasped. “Oh no! It’s two-thirty already?! Rei’s going to kill me!” she 
moaned. “Sorry, Mamoru-baka, but I’ve got to go! Ja ne!” she yelled as she 
went racing towards the Hikawa Jinja. Mamoru just hung his head. ‘Confusing 
girl,’ he thought, and decided to go to the Crown Game Center for a 
milkshake.
***@------’---***
Mamoru sighed. He had no idea why he was wasting time walking through the 
park when he needed to get home and sleep. He looked at his watch. 
‘Nine-thirty already, huh?’ A couple strolled by him. “Seiji, let’s go get
 some dinner!” “All right, all right!” Seiji laughed, and the two left 
Mamoru behind. He sighed again. ‘Sometimes makes me wish I had a 
girlfriend.’ He continued his stroll. Suddenly, he heard a girl screaming 
nearby. “OH GOD NO!!!! GET AWAY FROM ME!” ‘That sounds like Usagi!’ Mamoru 
began running towards where he had heard the screaming. He came to a 
clearing, where he saw a big man lying on top of a girl. Mamoru charged the
guy, and punched him in the face. He saw that the girl was indeed Usagi, 
and Galen now had a split lip thanks to him. “You son-of-a-bitch!” Mamoru 
growled, and punched Galen in the groin. He fell to the ground with an 
“Oof!” and quickly sat up. “If I ever see you coming near Usagi again, 
you’ll get worse.” Mamoru threatened. Galen nodded, and suddenly got up and 
ran away. Mamoru began to inhale deep breaths of air, and turned to Usagi. 
She looked at him with unshed tears in her eyes. “Are you okay?” Mamoru 
asked gently, sitting down and enfolding her in a tight hug. She began to 
cry then, holding onto Mamoru like she needed him to live. “I was so 
scared,” she managed to get out in-between sobs. “Shh...” Mamoru whispered. 
“Did he hurt you, Usagi?” he asked quietly. She shook her head. “No, he 
just touched me. It was really scary...” she burrowed herself deeper into 
his arms. He stood then, with Usagi in his arms, and walked back to his 
apartment, which, luckily, wasn’t that far from the park. He laid her down
 on his bed, and she immediately fell asleep, tears still running down her
 face. Mamoru smiled softly, and kissed her forehead. “Sleep well, 
Usagi...” he murmured before covering her with a blanket.
***@------’---***
Usagi woke up slowly, savoring the feel of a nice, soft bed beneath her. 
Then, she sat up. ’Where am I?’ she thought, and stood up on shaky legs. 
After steadying herself, she opened the door that led out into the hallway,
and went exploring. She found the bathroom first, and washed her face. 
Then, she went to the living room, where Mamoru sat in a chair, drinking 
some coffee and reading a physics textbook. “Mamoru-san?” Usagi called 
tentatively from the hallway. Mamoru turned around and smiled when he saw 
her. “So, you’re finally awake.” Usagi nodded. “How long have I been here?”
she asked him. “About two hours. Would you like something to drink?” he 
offered. “No, thank you. I should be getting home.” She walked to the door, 
the stopped. “Mamoru-san...” she turned around to find him watching her.. 
He had a look of concern written on his face. She turned around and grinned 
suddenly. “Thank you, Mamoru-san. You’re really not such a baka after all.” 
With that, she turned around and left the apartment. “Neither are you, 
Usagi...” he whispered, “just stay out of trouble next time.” Then, he 
turned and went back to daydreaming about Usagi.


~Japanese terms~
odango atama- “dumpling head”
baka- idiot
baka yaro- you idiot 
ja ne- see you soon
Hikawa Jinja- Rei’s family’s shrine
gomen nasai- very sorry
hai- yes

Okay, I think that’s about it for the Japanese terms. Remember everyone, 
e-mail is a girl’s best friend! ^_~ Until next time!

Love always,
~JupiterHalo~